Chapter 1

The Chosen People

The Bible is the revelation of God's will to man. It is a self-disclosure
by God giving us information we could not gain from any other
source. It begins with the book of Genesis, explaining in just
a few chapters, how the human race was brought into existence
by the personal activity of the God who created the universe.
It shows that the first man and woman were the objects of His
love and special attention. They were created "in His image"
(Genesis 1:26-27), and were given the privilege of regular communication
with Him (Genesis 2:15-17; 3:8) One man and one woman were appointed,
not only as the progenitors of our race, but also as God's stewards,
His custodians and caretakers over the creation. They were created
with the characteristics of mind, emotions, personality, and will.
They were made creative, imaginative, inventive, artistic, capable
of loving and being loved--and above all, able to worship.

As the account of Genesis continues its simple but profound revelation
of God's dealing with our human parents, the problem of evil surfaces.
Even though Adam and Eve had been created perfect, they had also
been created with the ability to choose, or reject, God's will
for them. In theory, they could have chosen to obey God completely,
but instead, being tempted by Satan, they partook of the forbidden
fruit (Genesis 3). Evil did not begin with man but with a rebellion
among the angels. The angelic rebellion damaged the created universe
and its invisible angelic government. (Isaiah 14:12ff.; Ezekiel
28:12ff.) It also brought about the possibility that man, too,
could choose a course of action contrary to the perfect ways of
God. This first human sin alienated our original parents from
their creator. Instead of looking forward to walking with Him
in the garden, they hid themselves from Him (Genesis 3:8-10).

The separation from God that is the result of sin is the greatest
of all problems for the human race. God had warned Adam that if
he disobeyed, "you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
Adam did not die immediately in a physical sense, although the
process of aging and eventual death was triggered by this event
of rebellion. But Adam died spiritually (Romans 5:12)--the word
"death" in the Bible actually means "separation."
Thus, when a person dies physically, there is a separation between
the physical and the non-physical aspects of his being: his Soul
and Spirit. The body is laid to rest where it will return to dust
(Genesis 3:19), while the immaterial part of man goes on to wait
the judgment, and the eventual destination of heaven or hell (Luke
16:19-31). There is also a spiritual death ­ separation of
man's spirit from the spirit of his Creator. This is what the
Apostle Paul had in mind when he declared,

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions
and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways
of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the
spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 2:1-2)

Sin, therefore, poses the greatest of all threats to the well-being
of our race. Man's fall resulted in his spiritual death. His body
was genetically damaged so that all men are mortal because of
the sin of Adam. Men cut off from the source of life have no hope--and
God IS Life! All life, all forms of life, come from God. Being
disconnected from the source of life (for any reason) means an
organism will begin to die, and continue to die. Men begin to
die as soon as they are born, but God in His love for us did not
abandon us in our plight. A god who was simply good might have
declared the human experiment a failure, and would have left us
to suffer the consequences of our rebellion, or, perhaps, would
have put us out of our misery, snuffing out the planet with a
momentary explosion, in order to preserve the rest of His creation
from possible contamination. A god who was simply just could have
easily allowed anarchists and rebels to perish. After all it is
His universe not ours.

But God is not simply good, nor simply just. Above all He is holy,
and He is a God of love. His very nature is love. (1 John 4:8).
In His love, He sought to reestablish a relationship with Adam
and Eve by seeking them out. When they hid from Him, the Lord
found them and offered a way back, a way of restoration. That
restoration involved wearing the skins of an animal sacrifice.
An animal sacrificed by God Himself was the first creature to
die. The death of the animal was symbolic of the physical death
they deserved to die. It demonstrated a great principle of Scripture
that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission
(removal) of sin." The concept of a substitutionary atoning
sacrifice was introduced. Before they received this gift from
God, they were in a state of being spiritually dead-­cut off
from Him. But when they received it and wore it, they were in
effect confessing their sin and their inability to solve the problem
for themselves. The death of that first animal on their behalf
became a "covering" for their sin (Genesis 3:21). Fig
leaves and other forms of clothing would come to be symbols of
man's self-righteousness. Sin causes man to lose his own righteousness
as the prophets tell us, "All of us have become like one
who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."
(Isaiah 64:6) This would later be the basis for the institution
of the system of animal sacrifices. sacrifices and would teach
us about "imputed righteousness"--that inherent goodness
of Christ with which we are clothed when we place our faith in
Him. And the animal sacrifices, in turn, point to a future final
sacrifice by the Messiah. That is why Paul continued the explanation
in Ephesians this way:

But because of his great love for us, God,
who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we
were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
(Ephesians 2:4-5)

The next few chapters of Genesis trace the spread of the human
race and its eventual corruption--within less than 2000 years--to
the point that God needed to send a flood to destroy the evil.
Again, He did not destroy the entire planet, but, in love and
grace, God preserved the eight persons who still trusted in Him.
Therefore, Noah and his family were saved (Genesis 6-10).

After the Flood, God told men to "be fruitful and increase
in number and fill the earth." (Genesis 9:1) This would require
them to gradually migrate in all directions. Those who were migrating
East built a city and a tower at Babylon, and established there
false religious system in an effort to disobey God and stay together.
God confused their languages so they could no longer work together.
(Genesis 11)

Chosen to Share the Truth

Several hundred years later people had established cultures
in many places. There were some who still retained the truth passed
down to them by their fathers from the time of Noah, but there
were many who had abandoned that truth. God picked out one man,
from the city of Ur of the Chaldees, a place where most people
no longer believed in Him. He called Abram (later called Abraham)
with these words:

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave
your country, your people and your father's household and go
to the land I will show you. "I will make you into a great
nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and
you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and
whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will
be blessed through you." (Genesis
12:1-2)

The Covenants

God does not act whimsically or arbitrarily, but deals with
individuals and nations on the basis of great contracts or covenants
which He Himself initiates. The very name Yahweh is known as the
"covenant name" of God. Yahweh is related to the Hebrew
verb "to be" and indicates that God is a living Person
who enters into personal relationships with individuals and with
groups of individuals. Everything God has done in regards to our
salvation is based on one or more of the covenants God has made
in the past. None of these has been abrogated or annulled.

Even before Abraham's time God had made a covenant with Noah on
behalf of the whole human race. That covenant was a promise never
again to destroy the earth with a flood. (Genesis 9:8-17)
There are groups of churches today which stress what they call
"covenantal theology." We do not disagree with this
emphasis on the ways God has chosen to enter into contracts with
His peoples. However many of the "covenant churches"
would not necessarily agree with our eschatology. The subject
of covenants in the Bible is important and complex. The Appendix
introduces this subject for the serious student.

Five principle covenants--all still in effect--apply to
the nation of Israel. These include the Abrahamic Covenant (later
confirmed to Isaac and Jacob), The Mosaic Covenant, the Covenant
of The Land, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant.

The Purpose of a "Chosen People": Blessing of All
Nations

The Abrahamic Covenant was the promise of a special blessing
for Abraham's descendants: a "chosen" people. But it
is obviously not for their benefit alone, but that, through them,
all people would be blessed!

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave
your country, your people and your father's household and go
to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will
be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever
curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed
through you." (Genesis 12:3)

The promised benefit to the whole human race was later revealed
as the Messiah - - the Deliverer from the penalty of sin. That
is, the promise to Abraham was really the promise of one unique
seed, Messiah, in whom all the covenants would find their fulfillment
(Galatians 3:16). The theological term "eternal covenant"
refers to an agreement within the Godhead, made before the foundation
of the world, out of which all the covenants with mankind would
later flow.

The Promised Land

An important part of the promise to Abraham was that he would
be led to a land which God would show him.

Canaan

At the time of Abraham's journey, the land was occupied by
various Canaanite tribes, and was therefore known as the land
of Canaan. Canaan was the son of Ham, and the grandson of Noah.
Following the flood, the descendants of Canaan traveled to the
area and settled there. Canaan's sons became the heads of what
would become the tribes of Canaan. Canaan himself had evidently
participated in his father's sin of mocking and gross disrespect
when Noah accidentally became drunk, dishonoring his grandfather
(Genesis 9:21-26). Canaan manifested the same moral weakness his
father had, but to a greater degree. His descendants, resisting
God's grace, became more and more decadent and ungodly as their
history unfolded. Eventually these idolatrous peoples were to
be deprived of their land. (Deuteronomy 7:1-10)

Israel

Following a long series of conquests of the Canaanite tribes
(See the Book of Joshua), the twelve tribes of Israel finally
occupied a large portion of the land originally promised to Abraham.
In the days of David the land was renamed "Israel" after
the new name God had given the patriarch Jacob, whose twelve sons
were the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribes were
united in one great kingdom until after the reign of David's son
Solomon. After Solomon died a power struggle ensued, resulting
in a division of the people. The northern ten tribes were still
called Israel, but the southern two tribes, and the land which
they occupied, was called Judea, after the name of the larger
of the two tribes, Judah. This is the name from which the words
"Jew" and "Jewish" were derived.

Palestine

The name "Palestine" is not found in the Bible. It
has had a variety of meanings. Nelson's Bible Dictionary tells
us how the word was first used:

"The word itself originally identified the region as "the
land of the Philistines," a war-like tribe that inhabited
much of the region alongside the Hebrew people. But the older
name for Palestine was CANAAN, the term most frequently used
in the Old Testament.

"The term Palestine as a name for the entire land of Canaan,
beyond the coastal plains of the Phoenicians, was first used
by the fifth century B. C. historian Herodotus. After the Jewish
revolt of A. D. 135, the Romans replaced the Latin name Judea
with the Latin Palaestina as their name for this province."

As you can see, the name is actually an insult to the Jewish
people, denying the name Israel, which it once had, and going
back to the Philistines, their earlier opponents.

Before the rebirth of the Nation of Israel in 1948, the name Palestine
was virtually synonymous with "The Holy Land." Most
writers from the time printed books were first introduced until
this generation used the term in a non-political sense for the
entire region of the Bible lands. Palestine was a well defined
area at the end of World War II. The modern nation of Jordan was
carved out of the larger portion of Palestine, and the remainder
was the area now known once again as the nation of Israel.

Today the name "Palestine" has a different meaning with
highly political connotations. This will be described later in
the section on "Modern Israel."

Conditional Nature of The Promise for the Land

Covenants can be conditional or unconditional. As it turns
out only one of the covenants applicable to Israel is conditional---the
right of the Jews to live in the promised land.

This partly conditional covenant has several elements: (1) dispersion
of the Jews was to be a consequence of disobedience. (2) Future
repentance will be accomplished by God. (3) God will regather
his scattered people and restore them to the land. (4) The people
of Israel will be brought to the Lord as a nation. (5) The enemies
and oppressors of Israel will be punished. (6) Future national
prosperity and preeminence is guaranteed. (See also Deuteronomy.
28, 29.) Because of this covenant, the right of the Jews to live
in the land is conditional upon their behavior.

"See, I have set before you this day
life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of
the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the
LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments
and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and
multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which
you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart
turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship
other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you
shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are
going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and
earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before
you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life,
that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your
God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life
to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which
the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to
Jacob, to give them." (Deuteronomy
30:15-20)

The Disobedience and Restoration of Israel

Disobedience and Discipline

2 Kings, Chapter 17, documents God's reasons for His temporarily
removing the ten Northern tribes from the Land. The Lord indicates
that the approaching 70 year Babylonian captivity would allow
the Land to enjoy its seventh-year Sabbath rests which had been
ignored by the Jews since their entry into the land under the
leadership of Joshua.

Moses had given Israel this warning about what would happen if
they forsook the Lord:

I will scatter you among the nations and
will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid
waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will
enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and
you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest
and enjoy its Sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the
land will have the rest it did not have during the Sabbaths you
lived in it. (Leviticus 26:33-35)

Second Chronicles records the result of their disobedience:

He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant,
who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and
his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land
enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it
rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment
of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah. (2 Chronicles 36:20-21)

Repentance

Daniel, who had been among the young men taken captive to Babylon,
expressed the repentance that the exiles felt after years of captivity.
He had lived out a long and useful life in Babylon serving a succession
of governments and administrations, but as an old man he realized
the time of the captivity there was about to end when he happened
to be reading the scroll of his immediate predecessor Jeremiah:

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes
(a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom--in
the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures,
according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet,
that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So
I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition,
in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD
my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God,
who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey
his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked
and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and
laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who
spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers,
and to all the people of the land. "Lord, you are righteous,
but this day we are covered with shame--the men of Judah and
people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all
the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness
to you. O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers
are covered with shame because we have sinned against you."
(Daniel 9:1-8) (See also Daniel 9:15-19)

Rebuilding - Ezra, Nehemiah

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe the leadership of Zerubbabel
and Nehemiah, who led small numbers of Jews back to the Land at
the end of the appointed 70 years in Babylon. A modest Second
Temple was constructed and the city walls were rebuilt in answer
to Daniel's prayer of intercession (Daniel 9:1-19). The land from
that time until now was under Gentile dominion, however. Yeshua
would later affirm that Israel's subservience to Gentile powers
would continue until He returned, (Luke 21:24). This did not change
in 1948 when Israel achieved national independence--Jerusalem
is to be overrun and destroyed by foreign armies at least one
more time. (Zechariah 14:1-3)

Coming of The Messiah

The Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for Jewish readers.
It constantly refers to the Messianic prophecies fulfilled by
Yeshua (Jesus) as the rightful King of the Jews. Among these striking
fulfillments, Matthew cited Yeshua's virgin birth (1:22-23), the
place of His birth in Bethlehem (2:5-6), the flight of His parents
to Egypt to spare him from Herod's slaughter of children (2:14-15),
His boyhood years in Nazareth (2:23), the beginnings of His public
ministry in the area of Galilee (4:13-16), His miraculous healing
ministry (8:14-17; 12:17-21), His rejection by non-believers (13:13-15),
His entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey (21:1-5), His surrender
to His enemies (26:54-56), and His betrayal for thirty pieces
of silver (27:3-10).

His agony in the garden, illegal trial in the middle of the night,
crucifixion, burial and resurrection are vividly described (26-28).
The other three gospels give complementary details.

Fulfillment of Prophecy

A comparison of all the Gospels with the Old Testament record
results in over sixty different prophecies fulfilled in Yeshua's
birth, life and death. The odds against any person coincidentally
fulfilling these prophecies is astronomical! It was this fact
that convinced His followers that He truly was the long-awaited
Messiah. Here are some examples of this fact:

The first thing Andrew did was to find
his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah"
(that is, the Christ)

Philip found Nathaniel and told him, "We have found the
one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets
also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." (John 1:41, 45)

When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, He revealed
to her that He was Messiah.

The woman said, "I know that Messiah"
(called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain
everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak
to you am he."

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town
and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything
I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" (John 4:25-26, 28-29)

The Believing Minority - Apostles and Early Christians

It should always be remembered that the entire first church
was Jewish. All of the Twelve Apostles were Jewish. Their first
assignment was to preach to "the lost sheep of Israel."
(Matthew 10:6) Yeshua was reluctant at first to even share the
Gospel with the Canaanite woman who asked for His help because
His focus was also the Jewish people. (Matthew 25:22-28).

As the nation began to reject their promised King and Messiah
(Matthew 12:14-21), Jesus began to conceal truth from the nation,
by speaking in parables (Matthew 13). He focused on training.
His disciples for the age which would follow, and on His primary
mission of arriving in Jerusalem at the time appointed for His
crucifixion. God's plan for ultimate blessings promised to the
Gentiles came more into view.

On the night of His betrayal at the "Last Supper"--after
Judas had left to finalize his plot to betray the Lord--Jesus
brought the 11 disciples, as representatives of true, believing
Israel into the "New Covenant" which had been promised
to Israel hundreds of years earlier by the prophets Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and Isaiah. This New Covenant was to be the basis of the
spread of the gospel message of Jesus by these same men, after
they were made Apostles of the church. The nation Israel was to
be brought back to God under the terms of this New Covenant, though
for a period of time they were to be set aside because of their
rejection of Yeshua as Messiah.

Yeshua's official rejection of Israel and His plan for the calling
out of a church was announced at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:17-19).
A few months later, during His final week in Jerusalem, He announced
to the nation and its leaders,

"The stone the builders rejected has
become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous
in our eyes' Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will
be taken away from you [Israel]
and given to a people [the church] who will produce its
fruit. He who falls on this stone [Messiah] will be broken
to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." (Matthew
21:42-44)

Yeshua wept over Jerusalem as He realized the terrible fate
that would come upon the nation because of their rejection of
Him. For the second time the conditional provisions of the Covenant
of the Land were to be enforced. This time their exile ("Diaspora")
was to last not 70 years but 2000!

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the
prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is
left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again
until you say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord." (Matthew 23:37-39)

The resurrection of Jesus and His appearances to friends and
disciples over the next 40 days, reassured them considerably--for
they had all forsaken Him when He died (Matthew 26:31). Promising
to send them "Another Strengthener" (John 14:1516),
He told His followers to wait ten more days.

Gathering in Jerusalem on the appointed day--the Feast of Pentecost
following Passover--the Jewish followers of Yeshua were empowered
by the Spirit of God and baptized into a new community of believers
known as the church--the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 3:1-21)
All of those who first heard the Gospel on the Day of Pentecost
(Acts 2) were Jewish (including converts and those dispersed to
other countries).

It was only after the persecution of the early church by the Jewish
enemies of Yeshua in Jerusalem that they were scattered from there,
and began to take the message to the rest of Judea and Samaria,
and eventually, to Gentiles living in Israel, and even to other
Nations (Acts 8:1; 10:1-48; 13:1-4).

Even when Paul, the "Apostle to The Gentiles" would
go to any new place, he would first seek out the Jewish people
and proclaim the Gospel to them. (Acts 13:5; 14; 14:1-5; 17:1-5;
18:1-6) Typically, some of the Jews would believe and the rest
would not. Only then would he began to preach to the Gentiles.
Here is an example from the visit to Antioch in Pisidia:

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue,
the people invited them to speak further about these things on
the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of
the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas,
who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace
of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to
hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they
were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul
was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We
had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it
and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now
turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded
us: "'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you
may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'" When the
Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the
Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:42-48)

Paul summarized his God-given method in Romans 1:16 where he
stated, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the
power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first
for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

Israel's Unbelief

Rejection of Messiah

The second violation of the conditional provisions of the Covenant
Of The Land occurred when Israel as a nation rejected her rightful
Messiah, Yeshua, when He came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey
as legitimate King of Israel (exactly fulfilling Zechariah 9:9)

As he [Jesus]
was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives,
the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise
God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had
seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name
of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, "Teacher,
rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if
these were silent, the very stones would cry out." And when
he drew near and saw the city he wept over it, saying, "Would
that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But
now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon
you, when your enemies will cast up a bank about you and surround
you, and hem you in on every side, and dash you to the ground,
you and your children within you, and they will not leave one
stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time
of your visitation." (Luke 19:37-44)

One might have thought that during the 400 years following
the close of the Old Testament (after the book of Malachi was
written) the nation would have learned its lessons from history
and been ready for the coming of the Promised One. But the priesthood
had become thoroughly corrupt and the bulk of the populace wanted
relief from Roman Oppression--not release from inner evil, sin
and spiritual death. Messiah's rejection as rightful King in the
line of David was followed within a few days by His betrayal and
execution. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate the assembled
crowd of Jews was given an opportunity to free Jesus who was by
all counts completely innocent, or to release a known criminal.
In the ensuing clamor the people asked instead for the release
of Barabbas,

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed
to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And
they had then a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when
they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want
me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?"
For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him
up. Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife
sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that righteous
man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream."
Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the people to
ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to
them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?"
And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then
what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all
said, "Let him be crucified." And he said, "Why,
what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let
him be crucified." So when Pilate saw that he was gaining
nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water
and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent
of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." And all the
people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" (Matthew 27:15-25)

It is wrong for us to label Jews as "Christ-killers"
because quite clearly all mankind is involved in the conspiracy
which put Jesus to death. Representatives of each of the
sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth had a responsible role in
putting Messiah to death. Had the Son of God been born in any
other country, in any other time, the results would have been
the same. Yet the leaders of the Jews standing before Pilate in
that generation were willing to assume responsibility for the
blood of Jesus, "Let his blood be upon us." God will
evidently require this of the nation in the final days of the
coming tribulation.

The resurrection of Jesus three days after his death, and the
sudden and dramatic formation of the church of Jesus Christ in
Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (50 days after the resurrection)
did not turn the heart of the nation to their Messiah. It was
only a matter of time until the Jewish followers of Jesus, some
thousands in number, were forced to flee Jerusalem. Soon the unbelieving
Jews, in their continuing revolt against Rome, provoked the Romans
to remove them from the land. As a consequence, the provisional
terms of the Covenant Of The Land were invoked for the second
time by the Owner of the Land.

After this second dispersion, lasting nearly 2000 years, God allowed
His chosen people to return to their land again. The exciting
history of the regathering of the Jews from all lands began a
hundred years ago---culminating in the rebirth of the State of
Israel in 1948 and the tiny nation's rise to power and a restored
place of great power and influence as a modern progressive democracy.
Thankfully, God is faithful to His promises in spite our unbelief!

The drama of the Jewish people during their Diaspora is little
known to most Christians. It is fascinating reading because it
soon becomes clear that God has in fact protected the Jewish people,
their religion, values and culture against the great pressures
to assimilate, against almost constant terrible anti-Semitism,
against horrendous persecution down through the ages. The very
existence of the Jews today, the recovery of their language, their
regathering to the land of their fathers, and the clear signs
of their Messianic expectations, are surely among the greatest
miracles one can find on the pages of human history.

Hardening and blindness - Romans 11

In the early years when God had moved to call out a church
to His name, and because the majority of Jewish people did not
accept Yeshua as Messiah, the Apostle Paul explained that they
had become spiritually blind. The same thing happens to any people
anywhere in any age who hear truth from God and ignore it. The
Jews are representative--not unique--in their demonstration of
all of mankind's rebellion against God down through the ages.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this
mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has
experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the
Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)

One might ask if the past hundred years of great economic development,
prosperity, and overwhelming military victories against enormous
odds, has brought the Jews to a place of contrition and repentance
and humility as far as their God is concerned---especially since
the restoration of the State of Israel was born out of terrible
persecution and hardship?

It is quite true that many thousands of Jews from all over the
world have become believers in Yeshua over the past 2000 years,
and these have been added to the church (see Ephesians 2:11-3:12
for God's purposes in this present age). It is also true that
there is a small remnant of some thousands of believing Jews now
resident in the Land of Israel (Romans 11:5). Yet for the most
part Israel is a secular state. Most of her citizens are not only
indifferent to the God of their Fathers, but openly hostile to
any notions that the God of the Land is anything more than an
interesting mythological character now outgrown and to be discarded.

People who live in Israel can not help but be reminded of their
past because the Sabbath is observed, and the major Biblical feasts
are kept by many. Furthermore, archaeology is the national pastime,
so there are reminders of early history in the news every day.
At the present time about half of the Jews living in the land
are "Sabras"--that is, they were born in the land and
not immigrants. This younger generation is especially involved
in a quest for their roots and identity, and from among the young
men of this generation, well over 100,000 are already diligently
studying the Torah in the many yeshivas of the land.

Although God is known for his great patience and long-suffering,
it is appropriate to ask how much longer the Holy God of the Covenants
will tolerate the present indifference, rebellion and disregard
for His Person which typifies the Israel of the past hundred years?
Of course we can not speak much more favorably about the disregard
for God in our own country these days, especially since most Americans
have already heard the truth about God, but never taken it seriously.

Sadly, we have further indications from the New Testament that
tell us that not only will Israel continue in its denial of Yeshua
as Messiah--they will in fact readily embrace a counterfeit Messiah.
Jesus warned His people when he was with them,

You search the scriptures, because you
think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that
bear witness to me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may
have life. I do not receive glory from men. But I know that you
have not the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's
name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own
name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive
glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from
the only God? (John 5:39-44)

Israel is God's model nation, yet in spite of the fact that
Israel's history of repeated failure is on public display in the
Bible for all to read, God has neither abandoned nor rejected
His chosen people. When all the final scores are in concerning
all the nations and their animosity and hatred of the one true
God, no one will have any cause for boasting. In fact God will
judge all the other nations of the world by how they have treated
the Jews (Joel 3).

One hundred years of God's grace, kindness, mercy and favor have
not turned the nation of Israel towards faith in their God. Nor
are they any closer to accepting their true Messiah. Will then
God banish the Jews from the land again, perhaps this time permanently?

The answer from Scripture is clear. Israel's final testing will
occur in their land and involve the destruction of a majority
of the populace, a time of trial compared to which the Nazi holocaust
will pale in insignificance.

Modern Israel

Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37 plainly predicted that the Chosen
People would one day be regathered from the various nations of
the world, back to their own land, Israel. The Prophet saw a vision
of a valley full of dry bones, shaking and coming back together.
Once the skeleton was formed, muscles appeared, then skin covered
the reconstructed body which is symbolic of the rebirth of Israel.

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he
brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle
of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among
them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley,
bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can
these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone
know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones
and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This
is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath
enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to
you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will
put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know
that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded.
And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound,
and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons
and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was
no breath in them. (Ezekiel 37:1-8)

The modern nation of Israel came into existence on May 14,
1948 when the British, who had occupied the area of Palestine
since the end of World War II withdrew their forces and ended
their occupation of the land.

This was not a surprise, since Jewish people had flocked to the
land for decades as part of the Zionist movement, begun in the
late 1800's. At the end of World War I the British issued the
"Balfour Declaration" which endorsed the establishment
of "a national home" for the Jewish people in Palestine
During World War II the Nazis killed 6 million Jewish people,
(approximately one-third of all Jews living at the time). Because
of this, world opinion was in favor of the establishment of a
homeland for Jews.

However, all of the nations immediately surrounding the little
sliver of land were opposed to the formation of a Jewish state,
so, on the very first day of Israel's independence, all of Israel's
neighbors declared war against them. Israel miraculously won that
war--and four more which have been waged against them during their
first fifty years of existence.

The Arab population of the land, who were mostly Moslems, were
invited to stay when Israel became a nation. They were offered
citizenship if they would stay. Many of them accepted the offer,
but the majority fled into buffer areas just inside the borders
of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where they formed Palestinian refugee
camps. The neighboring countries would not assimilate them, preferring
to use their plight as homeless refugees for political advantage.

Today "Palestinians" are the residents of certain areas
of Israel designated by the Oslo Accords of 1963 as areas for
self-rule of Palestinian people under the leadership of Yassir
Arafat and the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization). There
is a great deal of unrest, and occasional terrorist activity,
between the residents of these areas and the rest of Israel, all
of which threatens to destroy the progress of the "peace
process" in the area.

The Nation of Israel has been brought back together as promised
in Ezekiel: the skeleton, the muscles, and the skin are in place,
but there is still one part of the prophecy which awaits fulfillment.
That is the spiritual rebirth of the people. This is symbolized
by God breathing life into Israel, even as He did into Adam when
he was created.

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son
of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain,
that they may live.'"

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and
breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their
feet--a vast army. Then he said to me: "Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are
dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy
and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my
people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from
them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you,
my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves
and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you
will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will
know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares
the LORD.'" (Ezekiel 37:9-14)

Israel has moved back into their ancient lands without any
special regard for the God of their Fathers, who was doing this
for them. The treatment of the immigrating Jews towards the Arabs
living in the land was often harsh and unfair. This is surely
because they had returned in a general state of unbelief. They
had forgotten for the moment the Law of Moses, and God's standards
for treatment of strangers and aliens living in God's land. Much
of the rebellion by the Palestinian people against the Jews is
based on legitimate complaints, and God, of course, can not overlook
this in the long run. He has no favorites and is even-handed in
His judgments of all people.

Israel's Glorious Future

As mentioned earlier, God's ultimate intention for the nation
Israel is that they should one day live under the more powerful,
more effectual conditions of the New Covenant which is the covenant
which is now in effect in the world-wide church of Jesus Christ,

This is pictured in Ezekiel 36 this way:

"'For I will take you out of the nations;
I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into
your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will
be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from
all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you
a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you
to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:24-27)

It is after the church is completed that God will turn again
to Israel as a nation and focus His activities once again from
His unseen headquarters in Jerusalem.

Peter has related how God first visited
the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And
with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,
`After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of
David, which has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will
set it up, that the rest of men may seek the Lord, and all the
Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who has made
these things known from of old.' (Acts
15:14-18)--The quote is from Amos 9:11-12).

In his great discourse on Israel's future the Apostle Paul
assures us,

Lest you [believing
Gentiles] be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand
this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel,
until the full number of the Gentiles come in [to the church],
and so [or, "then"] all Israel will be saved;
as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he
will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; "and this will
be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." As
regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but
as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you
were once disobedient to God but now have received mercy because
of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order
that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. (Romans
11:25-32)

The Old Testament books of prophecy are full of promises of
the future blessing of Israel. This will be developed later in
the last section on the Millennial Reign of Christ and beyond.